European stock markets recorded strong gains this evening after better than expected US manufacturing data. Investors were encouraged by the data which showed that the US industrial sector expanded for the 13th month in a row in August, beating most analysts' expectations.
London's FTSE index added 141 points (2.7%) to close at 5,366, while the Paris CAC jumped 133 points (3.8%) to end at 3,624 and the Frankfurt DAX rose 159 points (2.7%) to finish at 6,084.
Dublin's ISEQ index followed its European counterparts and finished 57 points (2.1%) higher at 2,761 this evening. After their well received half yearly results yesterday, shares in Irish Life and Permanent and Grafton Group powered ahead, with IL&P ending 6.8% higher at €1.54 and Grafton up 5.1% to €2.83. Shares in the other banks, however, were mixed with AIB up 1.3% to 78 cent while Bank of Ireland dropped 1.3% to end at 76 cent.
Wall Street stocks soared this evening after strong manufacturing data in the US and China eased deep-running concerns over the state of the global economic recovery. The Dow Jones jumped 234 points (2.3%) to stand at 10,249 while the Nasdaq composite index rose 56 points (2.6%) to stand at 2,170.
Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei closed 1.2% higher at 8,927 as exporters gained ground on speculation that authorities may be leaning towards intervention to stem the yen's rise. The strong Chinese manufacturing data lifted the Hang Seng, which closed 0.4% higher at 20,624 in Hong Kong.
